Cannabinoids are terpenophenolic compounds found in Cannabis sativa, an annual plant belonging to the Cannabaceae family. The plant produces more than 100 different cannabinoids. Cannabinoids accumulate mainly in the glandular trichomes. Classical cannabinoid compounds include tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), prescribed by physicians as dronabinol (Marinol®) or nabilone (Cesamet®), which is used for treating glaucoma, AIDS wasting, and chemotherapy-induced nausea. THC may also be effective in the treatment of allergies, inflammation, epilepsy, depression, migraine, bipolar disorders, anxiety disorder, drug dependency, neuropathic pain, treatment of spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, and drug withdrawal syndromes.
Cannabinoids have therapeutic potential. For example, cannabidiol (CBD) is a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compound and may provide protection against acute and chronic neuro-degeneration. It is found in high concentrations in hemp and acts as a high affinity α2-adrenergic receptor agonist, moderate affinity 5-HT1A receptor antagonist and low affinity CB1 receptor antagonist. CBD may also have anti-depressant activity. Cannabichromene (CBC) possesses anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, and anti-viral properties. Thus, cannabinoids are considered to be promising agents for their beneficial effects in the treatment of various diseases.
The varins are a class of cannabinoids that are structurally different from the classical cannabinoids (e.g., THC, CBD, CBG, or CBC). Instead of having a pentyl (5-carbon) side chain attached to the aromatic ring as present in the classical cannabinoids, varins have a 3-carbon propyl side chain. Many of the varins are found in very low amounts in the Cannabis plant. Tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV) is one of the most studied cannabinoid varin compounds. THCV can function as an antagonist of THC at CB1 receptors and thus attenuate the psychoactive effects of THC. THCV has also been shown as a potential treatment for type 2 diabetes by increasing insulin sensitivities and improving glucose tolerance. Wargent et al., Nutr Diabetes., May; 3(5): e68 (2013). THCV has also shown promise for treatment of epilepsy and to reduce tremors associated with Parkinson's diseases.
Despite their known beneficial effects, therapeutic use of cannabinoid compounds, particularly varins, is hampered by the difficulty in obtaining high yields of cannabinoid compounds (both pentyl and propyl chain cannabinoids) from plants. Moreover, extraction, isolation, and purification of cannabinoid compounds from plant tissue are particularly challenging for a variety of reasons, including the difficulty of separating cannabinoids from terpenes, chlorophyll, and other plant components and the fact that the Cannabis plant only produces small quantities of many of these cannabinoids.
Therefore, the practical challenges in isolating the natural cannabinoid compounds from plants highlights a need for developing effective, safe systems or methods for large scale production of cannabinoid compounds for therapeutic use, especially, since chemical methods for synthesizing many of the cannabinoids and rarer varins are not yet available in the published literature.